The Art of Coming Back
by Ridley C. James
Summary: Tag for Episode 2:04-X-Ray Penny. Mac is worried the apple might not have fallen far from the tree so instead of focusing on the father who left him behind, he decides to try and appreciate the brother who always stays, even when he tells him to leave.


The Art of Coming Back

By: Ridley C. James

A/N: First, I can't believe it took me a whole week to finish this tag. I am getting it in just under the line! LOL loved episode 2:04 for so many reasons, all of them Mac, Jack and Murdoc related. Of course there are things I wanted to see that I know time did not allow for in the episode but I felt were really important. I'm quite certain many felt the same way and I'm sure we have gotten some awesome tags and missing scenes because of this. I haven't read any of them yet, as is my tendency to do if I am planning to do one of my own, so please forgive any redundancy in this little piece that I am sure will occur. But can we really have too much of our boys? I am still NOT a Cage fan. I do feel the character is going to be around for a while although I seriously wish that wasn't the case, so I am trying to find redeeming qualities and keep my fingers crossed the writers don't do something unfixable like make her Mac's half-sister-which to me would be even worse than a love interest but let's not get me started on that soapbox of oddness they seem to be attempting to pull off in some fashion. If you haven't seen the episode this has a bit of spoilers. Thanks to Mary for working on this with me, especially when it tookso long. Helloyesimhere, I'm so sorry I didn't get to twist this about like you suggested. I had already started before your awesome idea but maybe I'll try that at some point. Fiery Dragonness-I got your message. Count me in!

RcJ

"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like FOCUS."-Bruce Lee

Angus MacGyver woke to a searing solar flare being flashed in each eye, sending a stabbing pain through his skull. With a groan he blindly shoved at the hand brandishing the penlight, trying to sit up even as another pair of hands tried just as valiantly to hold him down. Panic ensued, swelling as he squeezed his eyes shut against the onslaught only to have unwanted images join the assault. Murdoc's menacing sneer materialized behind his tightly closed lids, a haunting laugh echoed and Mac's adrenaline kicked in allowing him the strength he'd lacked moments before and he managed to break free with a gasp, feeling something give in his side for his effort.

"Mac."

The name was right, but the voice and touch on his shoulder were completely wrong.

"You need to let the medics check you over."

Mac blinked, squinting at the too bright light, relief bubbling through him when he could lift a hand to rub at his eyes without the bite of metal cuffs restraining him. Cage's face swam into focus, her blue eyes reflecting both concern and irritation as she leaned over him. He looked past her, to see buildings, flashing lights, and the wreckage of their armored transport. It was at once all too familiar and disturbingly different. Mac slowly brought an arm around his middle, realizing it was the second time in so many hours that he'd ended up lying on rough asphalt, medics gathered around him.

"Jack?" He managed to coax his words into what he hoped was an understandable request, wincing at the roughness of his own voice. It felt so much like his first go-around earlier in front of the cafe. Of course the teen girl named Gwen with the dark blue hair and a ring through her bottom lip that he'd talked into calling Jack while her mother insisted on heralding 9-1-1 had seemed more empathetic to his plight than Cage currently did if the former CIA agent's frown was any indication.

"Where's Jack?" Mac tried again.

Cage sighed in the barely audible way she had a habit of doing, which Mac had come to realize was her way of expressing her lack of patience in a manner she hoped didn't reflect her lack of patience. "He wasn't responsive. The ambulance already left with him."

"What?" Mac tried to sit up, glaring at the medic who attempted to prevent him from doing so. He rubbed a hand over his hurting forehead, searching his fragmented memories, recalling having come around directly after they took fire from what he assumed was a handheld recoilless rocket launcher to see Murdoc pulling Henry Fletcher from the back. Mac had been consumed with trying to get his legs free to prevent what he assumed was the inevitable, Murdoc taking them all out while they were trapped and vulnerable. He'd recalled calling Jack's name a few times, his partner not answering, but then Murdoc had been looming over him, promising to see him soon and then Mac had blacked out. "Is he alright?"

"I'm not sure. They had to cut you both from the wreckage. You were in and out of it, but Jack didn't regain consciousness." Cage's tone was matter of fact, but she looked at him for a moment, as if deciding how much or perhaps what was relevant to share. "It appeared he had a nasty head wound, but I didn't see any other injuries."

"Where…what hospital?" Mac supposed he should have asked if she were alright but then again she was walking, talking, and in one piece so he saved his energy for keeping his building panic for his partner's condition at bay. The crescendo of fear was also too reminiscent of his earlier experience after escaping Murdoc, when an ambulance had arrived for him and he'd not wanted to leave, knowing his new buddy Gwen had given Jack the exact address where Mac had made it out of the man hole and escaped being plowed down by oncoming vehicles.

"Good Samaritan." It was the medic who answered.

"Thanks." Mac nodded, ignoring the wave of dizziness the action brought, along with another stabbing pain in his head and side. He impressed himself by actually making it to his feet without assistance. Mac looked to Cage, who was watching him with trepidation, her hands held out as if she might need to catch him at any moment should his strength give way under his determination. Mac righted himself although he felt the resistance of his bruised torso and legs when they were forced to hold all his weight. He waved a hand at Cage. "Let's go."

"Sir, I really think you should let us take you…" The medic started in on the same argument the EMT had given to Mac when he'd come around enough from Murdoc's cocktail to refuse transport.

"No!" Mac snapped, not bothering to address the man. His stubborn gaze stayed locked on Cage, forcing himself to stand up straighter, thankful for the new surge of adrenalin. "Either you drive me or I'll drive myself."

Cage didn't bother with pretenses this time, her sigh more pronounced huff. "As if we need Matty even more pissed over another totaled vehicle." She turned to the medic, giving a nod. "I'll make sure he's seen by a doctor once we're there."

"Suit yourself." The EMT replied, starting to bag his supplies, obviously not happy with the turn of events. Mac was really not scoring any points with the first responders as of late.

"Do you really have a problem with medical assistance or are you just not fond of lights and sirens?" Cage asked as she led the way towards another Phoenix car that some of the tactical operators or lab techs Mac could now see milling around the scene must have brought. "I mean I wondered when Jack brought you to the med bay at Phoenix but…"

"Neither," Mac replied, cutting off her observation as he gingerly lowered himself into the passenger's seat, slamming his door as she started the engine. "I just need to see Jack and that won't happen if I'm checked into the ER as well."

"At least you didn't take off on your own." Cage shot him a glance, as she maneuvered the car around the bustling agents securing the area. "Matty, nor Bozer, for that fact, was happy when Jack went lone wolf after receiving your call."

"He brought men." Mac defended his partner's actions, his breath catching when the car hit a pothole. He rubbed a throbbing spot on the side of his head, recalling the two black SUV's that had screeched to a halt blocking the intersections in front of the street-side café only mere minutes after Mac had found his way out of the sewer. The EMT's working on Mac in the back of the ambulance had exchanged worried looks when two teams of five heavily armed operatives fell out in formation and started spreading out in the area. Mac had only paid attention to their leader- who'd pulled up in his GTO seconds before them and headed straight for Mac. Honestly until that very moment when Jack showed up, Mac had been afraid that his partner might not come for him, especially in lieu of how they'd left things in Paris, and with Jack not answering any of Mac's messages.

"Jack called in his tactical teams he had on standby while in route," Cage pointed out as she once more swiftly swerved in and out of traffic as she had done when they had been in pursuit of the school teacher turned assassin. While Mac appreciated her urgency, his stomach wasn't quite as on board. "Alerting Matty and the rest of us only after he recovered you at the scene." She sent one more quick side glance Mac's way.

"Jack's in charge of tactical teams at Phoenix. He isn't exactly used to asking permission to give an order, and he takes his job as my bodyguard very seriously." Mac watched the traffic around them, bringing one arm to rest over his mid-section, guarding his hurting ribs. His grandfather's words about Mac's father losing focus of what was truly important flitted through his mind as he thought about how Jack didn't appear to have a problem with keeping his priorities in perspective. Even when Mac wanted to drive him away, Jack kept coming back for more. Mac, on the other hand was beginning to wonder if he might not be his father's son in more ways than just bearing the burden of an extremely high IQ. It was becoming painfully evident he might also have a problem with missing the forest for the trees.

"He's been doing that for how long now?" Cage asked casually. "Being your self-appointed watch dog that is?"

Cage's question pulled Mac from his dark thoughts and his mouth twitched as Jack's typical response to that question leaped to the forefront. Mac shifted slightly in his seat, suppressing a groan, his gaze going back to Cage. "Jack would tell you it was before I needed to own a decent razor or could legally buy a beer."

"And the truth?" Cage took her eyes from the road long enough to raise an amused brow at Mac.

"Technically, I wasn't old enough to buy alcohol stateside." Mac rested his head against the cool glass of the passenger window, watching the blur of scenery race by but recalling a different place and time all together. "Jack's been watching my back since I was nineteen when I was an EOD in the Army and assigned to his Delta unit for a one-time job that turned into more of a semi-permanent situation over the course of a couple of years."

"I suppose that would explain his all-consuming panic when you disappeared," Cage mused, navigating the car around another slow going vehicle. "It was different than his off the rails reaction with Riley, which is puzzling. I've never seen someone quite so revved, yet completely in control of a situation at the same time. A bit like a throttling jet engine."

Mac could whole-heartedly embrace Cage's analogy as he let his eyes slide close, coming down from the adrenalin high leaving him drained and exhausted. The residual effects of Murdoc's drug were compounding the effect no doubt. He didn't know why Jack reacted differently to Riley being in danger and him being taken, but he could vividly recall the moment his gaze had locked with Jack's as his partner approached the back of the rescue squad where Mac sat trying to answer the paramedics' questions about how he'd ended up stumbling around in traffic. Jack's face had been as grim and determined as Mac could remember seeing it, and Mac had known beyond a shadow of a doubt that whether he ever found his father or not, Jack would always come to find Mac.

" _Angus!"_

 _The use of his first name startled Mac enough to break his bleary-eyed concentration of what the paramedics were doing to him. His head jerked up from where it had been bent studying the EMT who was examining the torn and bloodied flesh at the crook of Mac's elbow. He was almost surprised to see his partner coming towards him decked out in full tactical gear and with more guns strapped to him than usual. Mac could count on his hands the times Jack had actually called him by his first name, each of the incidences when Jack had either been completely pissed or scared out of his mind._

 _He heard the teen girl-whose mom had insisted they stay until Mac's family arrived- mutter 'And I thought Guinnivere was bad' along with catching the mother's admonishment for her to watch her manners as she pulled her daughter back a few feet and shoved the girl behind her as Jack approached._

 _Getting a good_ _, albeit still bleary_ _look at his partner, Mac could understand the women's trepidation as well as that of the paramedics, who in that moment appeared to be torn between placing themselves between their reluctant patient and the approaching storm and seeking cover for themselves. Mac made their decision easy by evading their care and attempting to stand. He didn't quite get to his feet before Jack was there, pulling him into a bone crushing hug._

" _Damn, kiddo." Jack's rush of breath was warm against Mac's clammy skin. The fact he held on to Mac longer than their usual back slapping one-second embrace testament to the seriousness of what had transpired. "What the hell are you trying to do to me? You nearly gave me a freaking heart attack."_

" _Jack," Mac managed, hating that his voice was still shaky and that his eyes grew hot with tears as relief clashed with all the out of control feelings he'd been trying to hold at bay since first regaining consciousness in a very dark room handcuffed to a chair. He cursed Murdoc's damn drug, and the fact he wasn't as eager as he normally would have been to end the close contact, especially in front of an audience._

" _I'm here." Jack held on for a moment more before relaxing his hold. "I've got ya', bud."_

" _Murdoc," Mac muttered his forehead still resting against Jack's shoulder,_ _eyes squeezed shut for a moment_ _, hoping his partner heard him. "Murdoc's back."_

" _Yeah, I got his message." One of Jack's hands came up to rest on the back of Mac's head as he took a step back so he could see Mac's face. Mac wasn't sure if he was shaking harder than he thought or if maybe Jack was trembling with barely controlled rage. "I'm so going to kill that psycho sonofabitch this time."_

" _Good." Mac made out before another wave of Murdoc's chemical cocktail had him faltering. The shift in his balance and the fact he lost his tight fisted grip on Jack's shirt had his partner stepping in close once more to steady him._

" _Whoa, brother." Jack carefully guided him back to the ambulance bay doors. He helped Mac to sitting on the first rung, taking a knee in front of the younger man. He lifted a hand to rest on the side of Mac's face, then moved it to push_ _sweaty_ _bangs out of Mac's eyes so he could catch his gaze. "You still with me? Are you hurt? What did that bastard do to you?"_

 _Mac opened his mouth to answer the rapid fire questions but Jack's focus had already shifted from him to the EMT closest to Mac. "Is my partner okay? Why are you two just standing there? Do something."_

" _Your partner's obviously under the influence of some unknown substance." The EMT closest to Mac reached out and gripped Mac's wrist, not so gently flipping his arm over so Jack could see the puncture wound from Murdoc's IV, and the mess the psychotic killer had made when he'd jammed the needled deep into Mac's vein. "Aside from whatever he's using, he's physically fine."_

" _Murdoc gave me something," Mac told Jack, tugging his hand away with a barely contained gasp as pain registered when the paramedic's fingers brushed against the bruised skin caused by the cuffs. He hadn't exactly been cooperative with the medics since they arrived, unable to properly articulate who he was and details of how he'd ended up in the state he was in. After some of the people standing by had given their eye witness accounts of Mac weaving in and out of traffic before collapsing, he was quite certain they thought he was more than likely a recreational drug user, out of his mind on meth or heroine. Mac probably hadn't helped that initial reaction by babbling somewhat incoherently about torture and psychopaths kidnapping him._

 _Jack put a hand on Mac's knee levelling an icy stare at the EMT. "I'm going to give you some leeway considering there's a whole shit load of need to know stuff that's going on here that you don't need to know, but I'd advise you take it down a notch with treating my boy like he's some random addict you just picked up out of a back alley before you're the one needing medical attention." Jack didn't give the man a chance to answer as he swung his gaze back to Mac, his tone instantly shifting to the one Mac recognized as part horse whisperer and part freaked out partner finesse. "Do you know what it was, Mac?"_

" _Maybe. Probably," Mac answered unhelpfully,_ _frowning_ _. What he did know for certain was that he was being a hypocrite after the whole 'helicopter parent' jab he'd made in Paris, because he'd never been happier to see Jack in over-protective big-brother mode, finally feeling safe for the first time since he'd been attacked at his home. Jack was looking at him expectantly, but Mac found it impossible to formulate the words to explain the complex mixture of drugs he imagined coursing through his system. The paramedics had already asked him similar questions. His eyes were burning again, this time from complete and foreign frustration. "My head hurts. I can't think, Jack. I can't..."_

" _That's okay, brother," Jack offered a smile that Mac could tell was not only fake, but completely forced. He didn't miss the rush of panic that his declaration had brought to his partner's dark eyes as he flashed the paramedic a concerned glance. "I'm sure he'll be back to Einstein status and good as new once this stuff makes it out of his system. Right?"_

" _We really can't tell you much more until we get him to the hospital and run some tests," the EMT Jack hadn't threatened replied to the question._

" _No." Mac met Jack's gaze, reaching out to latch onto his partner's wrist,_ _panic in his eyes._ _"They can do the same thing at Phoenix. Please, Jack."_

" _Let me call Matty and see, okay?" Jack stood, gently tugging his hand free of Mac's grasp before retrieving his cell from his back pocket. He went to move away, out of earshot of the medics when Mac felt his heart kick into overdrive, an irrational and uncontrollable fear bringing a memory of Murdoc's face, the obvious enjoyment he took in Mac's pain clearly evident. Mac could almost hear the creepy whistling. He_ _squeezed his eyes shut tightly, hoping to get rid of the images swirling around his head._

" _Don't." Mac snapped, getting to his feet too quickly when Jack started around the side of the ambulance. He stumbled forward a few feet after the older agent and would have fallen if his partner hadn't turned instinctively, free hand reaching out to catch him._

" _Hey now," Jack kept a hold on Mac's arm_ _when his knees buckled._ _"I don't think moving around so much is a good idea at this point." Jack motioned to his ear with the phone he was holding. Mac realized his partner was monitoring comms. "We still don't have eyes on our guy and I'd rather you not be out in the open without tac gear if you know what I mean, brother."_

 _Mac gave a brief nod, bringing a hand to his head where he was pretty sure he'd hit it on the sidewalk_ _. A wave of dizziness hit him, made him swallow thickly._ _"I just want to go home."_

" _I get that." Jack gave him an understanding glance, one that nearly had Mac's eyes tearing up again. His best friend seemed to realize his struggle reaching up to squeeze Mac's shoulder. Jack lowered his voice. "Hang in there just a little longer, kiddo. I need to let Matty know what's going on and let her think she has some input before we get out of here. I didn't exactly alert the media if you know what I mean when I got the call from the chick you sweet-talked into phoning me."_

 _Mac rolled his eyes, some of his panic assuaging. "That chick was a kid."_

" _So are you." Jack smirked to take the sting out of the jab. "Would I be such a pain in the ass helicopter parent if you were an actual grown up?"_

" _Yes, yes you would," Mac shook his head, running a hand through his hair. He met Jack's gaze, feeling stupid and ridiculous for what he was about to say, especially in light of his usual candor at being completely capable of handling any situation on his own. "I just need to be able to see you-okay? Keep you sight."_

" _Okay." Jack said simply although he most definitely had taken on what Bozer aptly called 'his bone-breaking face'. He took a step back towards the ambulance, gesturing to the medics who were exchanging wary glances as he once more guided Mac to sitting. "Change in plans. How about you boys give us some privacy for a minute?"_

" _But this is our rig," the unwise paramedic countered stubbornly,_ _crossing his arms._

 _Jack didn't even bother with a response, instead waving at one of the men from his detail Mac hadn't noticed standing just off to the side of them. Now that he took note, he realized all bystanders had been cleared from the streets, including the curious onlookers and Gwen and her mother._

" _Sanders, how about you escort these two fine professionals out of my personal bubble for a few minutes," Jack ordered when the armed agent made it over to them. "Give them a couple of vests just in case and if bullets start flying you can put them in one of our rigs for safe keeping."_

" _Yes, sir, Agent Dalton." Sanders jutted his chin towards the medics, who had grown rather pale while Jack issued his command. "Follow me, gentlemen."_

" _I'm sorry," Mac said once they were alone,_ _still taking deep, controlled breaths._ _He ran a hand over his face, wishing like hell he could gain control of his runaway emotions. "I don't know what's going on."_

" _Hey," Jack gripped the back of his neck, forcing Mac to meet his gaze. "Cut yourself some slack, bud. You've got some drugs coursing through you and you were just kidnapped by the King of Crazy. I don't know the details but I imagine it wasn't any pleasure trip. Anyone would be shaken up." Jack held up the phone. "Can you tell me a little about what happened so I have something to give Matty to chew on until we get back to Phoenix, besides my ass that is?"_

" _There were three of them at my place. They used a taser before I could react." Mac swallowed thickly, recalling the men with masks. His hand unconsciously strayed to his chest where it seemed he could still feel the burn of electricity through his shirt. He'd been stupid not to check the door, but had thought for a brief moment it was Jack, ringing the bell just to prove a point that he was still pissed. Mac looked at his partner, not willing to reveal a truth that would needlessly heap more blame on Jack, not when he could plainly see his partner as usual had already taken on an unfair amount of guilt all by himself. "When I came to I was in some underground room, handcuffed to a chair, with this," Mac waved to the bruised puncture wound_ _, before folding his arms over his chest in a protective manner._ _"This IV stuck in me."_

" _Murdoc killed his accomplices," Jack filled him in,_ _his eyes never leaving his partner._ _"We found them executed at a warehouse and so far we've gotten no hits on them in the system. Even Riley's facial recognition program drew zilch. He covered his tracks real good. I was afraid we weren't going to find you, man. We're talking worst nightmare scenario."_

" _That's what he said." Mac blinked, looking up at Jack. "He said you wouldn't find me. That he'd hidden me too well. I didn't want to believe him but…"_

" _He might have been right about that one, brother." Jack looked like Mac had punched him. "Did he say anything else?"_

" _He wanted me to do something." Mac shook his head, looking down at his wrists, the bruises already forming there._ _He blinked when his vision grayed around the edges for second._ _"I thought he was going to torture me for information on Casein, but I'm not sure. He was having too much fun gloating about my father…and then he went to get his tools. I pulled the IV out with my teeth and used the needle to get free."_

" _Of course you did, kiddo." Jack gave a light laugh, squeezing the back of Mac's neck once more before removing his touch. "Goes to show that bastard isn't as smart as he thinks he is. He's no match for that big brain of yours, even when you're drugged to the gills."_

" _I'm feeling better now." Mac wasn't merely trying to reassure Jack. His head did seem to be clearing._ _Even if he still felt slightly removed from reality, it was slowly getting easier to keep a straight thought again._ _He hoped that by the time they reached Phoenix that he would have shaken off the worst of the symptoms. "Can we go?"_

 _Jack still looked uncertain. His gaze went from the phone he was still holding but had yet to use and back to Mac. "I guess I can call Matty once we're on the road and have her alert medical about the drug." He returned his searching gaze to Mac and the younger man easily detected the look of dread in his partner's dark eyes. "Are you sure he didn't hurt you, Mac? Be honest with me."_

" _Nothing I hadn't had before." Mac nodded, offering a hint of what he hoped was a reassuring smile, but must have been more grimace from the way Jack was clenching his teeth. "Really, Jack, for all his psychotic killer vibe, he kind of hits like a girl."_

" _Well, sissy or not, I'm still going to kill the bastard for what he did to you. And just for putting me through some of the shittiest hours of my life in which I'm pretty sure I got another sprinkling of gray hair, I'm not going to use my gun to do it." Jack reached out to help Mac up. Mac looked at his partner's outstretched hand, flashing back to a time when Jack had made good on such a promise. For all Mac's belief in violence as a last resort he couldn't help hoping Murdoc met a very similar fate to that of Clay Craddock. "Until I do, I'm not leaving you alone or letting you out of my sight."_

" _I think I can live with that." Mac gripped his partner's hand, allowing the help up although he_ _slowly_ _felt steady enough to attempt it without assistance. He couldn't keep his thoughts from a few days before when he'd been hell bent on proving he was more than capable of standing on his own. Mac had wanted nothing more than for Jack to leave him alone, to stop shadowing him. After what Murdoc had pulled, Mac was certain he'd be much more careful about what he wished for in the future._

"Mac?"

It was more the unfamiliar touch that startled Mac from the light doze he'd drifted into than Cage's voice. He'd almost gotten used to their newest agent's presence; comfortable with the sound of her accent, but her habit of getting tactile was still new. He'd tried to discount her close encounter with him earlier at Phoenix medical during her 'psychological game' as a mere tactic to elicit a more physical description from him about his surroundings, a technique to take him out of his mind and bring him into a sensory mode, but now he wasn't sure what she was playing at.

"Yeah." Mac straightened in his seat, suppressing a groan of pain when his ribs protested the movement. He squinted out the window to find they had just taken the exit to Good Samaritan. Cage's hand was still on his knee so he shifted towards the door as far as he could without climbing out of the car. She removed her touch, shooting a sideway glance that was more amused than offended. It made Mac wonder if she was pleased at her ability to unsettle him or if it was a way to see how far she could push his limits of comfort. Maybe, it was, as Jack had pointed out more than once, an attempt to flirt with him. He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to erase the last traces of sleep and with it the confusion that came with trying to figure out their newest team member. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's fine." Cage pulled into the lane that would take them to the ER entrance. "I would have woken you soon, but we've only been on the road for fifteen minutes. Matty, Bozer and Riley are already here."

"Any word on Jack?"

"I talked to Riley. She said he was awake and in rare form."

"That's not good." Mac ran a hand through his hair, wincing when his fingers hit a tender spot. He remembered the promise Jack had made to him when they'd left for Phoenix after Mac's escape. Jack had vowed not to let Mac out of his sight. He'd even been reluctant to go along with Cage's experiment. Agreeing to leave the room only after he and Mac shared a silent exchange that seemed to get the point across that Mac was okay with the idea and would be better once it was over and done.

"Excuse me." She sent another side glance in Mac's direction.

"I mean, I should have been there when he came to." Mac clarified as confusion registered in Cage's tone. He briefly wondered if he could walk faster to the entrance considering the traffic they were currently caught up in. The aches and pains now loudly making themselves known throughout his body told him he was probably better off sticking with the slow moving car. "Jack will think the worst considering he wasn't conscious on the scene."

"Especially after what Murdoc had already pulled with you," Cage added, insightfully. "Bozer said you and Jack have a code system in place for such times. Perhaps he engaged that with Jack to ensure you were indeed safe."

Mac frowned at the fact his roommate had been chatting with Cage about him and Jack, rubbing absently at a blood stain on his jeans. Sometimes he found it hard to chalk Cage's inquiries up to mere innate curiosity about her new co-workers. "I don't think a word game is going to cut it this time."

"Then it's a good thing we're here." Cage forewent stopping when it was her turn at the intersection, passing another car on the wrong side of the road to the blares of several horns. She whipped their vehicle into the ER entrance. "If you can make it on your own, I'll be in as soon as I find a place to park."

"I can make it." Mac was determined despite the protest of his ribs and right leg that had apparently taken the brunt of impact during the crash and was now throbbing in time to his heartbeat. He tried not to limp as he made it out of the car and through the automatic doors, knowing he failed, when pain shot through his thigh as he put his full weight on his right leg. Once in the waiting area he spotted Bozer and Riley.

"Mac!" Bozer was up in an instant, enveloping Mac in an enthusiastic hug that did nothing for Mac's aches and pains. "First you go missing and now you get blown up. You are either trying really hard to supply me with material for my next action/horror film or give me a few double feature nightmares."

"Sorry, Boze." Mac pulled back, sending a grin to Riley who rolled her eyes at their friend's drama. "Where's Matty?"

"Last I heard," Riley gestured to her headphones which Mac assumed meant she had virtual ears with their director. "She was still trying to convince Jack to let the doctor finish putting stitches in his hard head before he signed himself out AMA to go look for you, and by convince I mean threatening him with everything from Oversight to lame missions."

"Sounds about right," Mac slid a hand down his face, glancing to the silver bay doors that lead to the ER area. "Where?"

"That way." Bozer pointed towards the silver bay doors. "Follow the bellowing."

Mac had just made it into the area with several curtained off sections when he heard his partner's voice, which although not as loud as Bozer had predicted still rang out in the small area. Mac ignored the pain in his leg, picking up his pace. He took a moment outside the room to run a hand through his hair and right his shirt, trying not to look as shaken as he felt.

"The damn stitches are finished, Matty. I'm no longer bleeding like a stuck pig," Jack was saying just as Mac breezed into the room. "I'm leaving now whether…"

"Did Jack break his head again?" Mac asked, cutting off his partner's words and bringing both Jack's and Matty's twin gazes to him.

"About time you showed up, blondie." Matty folded her arms over her chest, glaring from Mac back to Jack. "I told you he was perfectly fine."

Mac made it over to the examination table where Jack was sitting, still in his street clothes. Despite the dark material of his partner's shirt Mac easily made out the blood stains marring it.

"Do you not see how he's limping and the way he's guarding his ribs?" Jack's critical, albeit bleary gaze roved over Mac before he returned his furious eyes back to Matty. "He's not exactly what I'd call perfectly fine, Matilda."

" _He's_ right here." Mac leaned against the table, blaming his slip in gate and protective stance on being caught off guard by the fact the right side of Jack's face was mottled with bruises and sported a massive cut across his cheek. There was a stark white bandage on his forehead just below his hairline which Mac imagined hid a large number of stitches if the amount of blood stains were any good indication. "So stop talking about me like I'm not in the room."

"What happened to not leaving my sight, brother?" Jack demanded as if Mac had a say in the matter.

"I'm not the one who had to be taken by ambulance from the scene of our most recent run in with Murdoc." Mac smirked to take the edge off his words, knowing that Jack had to just work up some steam.

"You couldn't have had my back on that little unnecessary joy ride? I recall sparing you that indignity earlier today." Jack snapped, going a bit green as the emphatic gesturing he was doing seemed to catch up to him.

"I happened to be unconscious at the time of your forced transport," Mac defended, although his accidental confession helped cool the flames in the way throwing gasoline on a campfire aided in preventing a forest fire.

"You told me he was up and around and talking." Jack growled at Matty through clenched teeth, one hand going to his stomach.

"I also told you if you threw up on me I would be sending you on shit recon maneuvers to remote regions of Antarctica for the duration of football season where you'll never see your precious Cowboys play." Matty turned her fierce glare to Mac. "Guess who's going to be going with him, helpful much."

Mac held up his hands suddenly feeling very much like a scolded teenager caught up in the middle of a parental battle royale. "Hey, I just came to check on my partner."

"Your _partner_ is being his usual stubborn, infuriating self," Matty pulled at the sleeves of her jacket, giving a frustrated huff. "Maybe now that you're finally here you can convince him to stay the night for observation like the good doctor suggested or at least go back to Phoenix medical where if his brain starts hemorrhaging one of the few staff you and him haven't completely alienated might save his life."

"The only way I'm staying here or at Phoenix is if Mac has to be admitted after the over-cautious doctor gives him a once over." Jack flashed Mac another quick look, still a little green around the edges. "Which from the looks of him, might be the case."

"I don't need a once over. And I'm not staying here or at Phoenix. We're going home, remember? We have warm beers with our names on them." Mac frowned at his best friend, doubt niggling at his mind as he considered if he was once more doing what he thought was best for himself without proper thought to those around him. He made an effort to retract his hasty proclamation. "That is, I mean, unless you really are hurt and need to stay."

"Dude, I'm fine." Jack's voice softened and the look he shot Mac this time held a different kind of concern than the previous one, which had been all consumed by Mac's physical well-being. Jack gestured to the bandage on his head. "You know this skull is reinforced steel. I've had harder blows head butting bad guys."

"Which I told you to stop doing considering the fact you're quickly approaching the number of blows Muhammad Ali took in his lifetime career in the ring." Matty pointed out. "I mean this in the most loving way when I say it is imperative to your position as Mac's partner that you not risk any more of your limited cognitive functioning."

"Forget everything I said earlier about me appreciating you having my back at Mac's place when this whole mess started." Jack pinched the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger before shooting another heated glance in Matty's direction.

"You never said any such thing, Dalton."

"Good, because now I totally don't mean it."

"I still appreciate you having his back," Mac spoke up, having pondered what finding him missing must have been like in the moments when Jack discovered Murdoc's calling card. Jack had made an art form of keeping track of Mac, of having almost a six sense when it came to knowing the younger man was in trouble. It must have been a massive blow on numerous levels to find Mac taken, right from his vigilant watch. Mac moved his hand over his ribs, when another twinge of pain shot through him as he faced Matty. "Especially since I was MIA."

"Instead of being a girl and blathering on about it, how about you just stay with your jerk of a partner and call me if he makes it through to the morning." Matty said in the tone that Mac had come to recognize as the one Matty reverted to anytime she was afraid her actual feelings for them might show through. "I have other priorities to deal with, like the fact I now have two internationally known assassins roaming about and have to account for not only one destroyed vehicle, but an armed transport my team let get blown to hell."

Jack opened his mouth to no doubt elaborate on Matty's take on the their part in Murdoc's latest attack but Mac jumped in before his partner could say anything to make the situation worse. "No problem, Matty, Jack's staying at my place for few days."

"Good, because I'm keeping Bozer, Riley, and Cage at Phoenix until we know for certain Murdoc and his new playmate are out of the area and not plotting a reprisal."Matty didn't give them a chance to offer any protest to her plan as she moved towards the door, calling over her shoulder that she'd alert the doctor he had another oh so compliant patient to check over on her way out.

"Since when am I staying at your place, brother?" Jack asked once they were alone.

Mac offered a shrug as he met his partner's worried gaze. "Since your best intentions to kill Murdoc with your bare hands didn't work out. I figured I wouldn't shake you for a few days and I might as well embrace your hovering as an opportunity for another pair of hands to fix the fridge."

"So much for my hovering." Jack snorted, giving a disgusted shake of his head. "I'm lucky that bastard Murdoc didn't kill you while I was out for the count this time."

"As Cage said earlier, I really don't think anything Murdoc does or doesn't do has much to do with luck." Mac gingerly hefted himself up on the table beside Jack, hoping to relieve the ache in his leg and the pinching in his ride side. He met Jack's frown with a forced grin. "At least you'll have another opportunity to finish him off at a later date."

"I'm more concerned with the fact he's still around to finish you off, brother." Jack's frown deepened despite Mac's attempt to redirect. "For the second time in a twenty four hour span, I've been useless at protecting you. I don't even have the excuse of you being a continent away, man. I think I'm losing my touch."

"Jack…" Mac started, determined to convince his best friend that he wasn't to blame for the craziness that was Murdoc, only to have Jack rush on with his self-flagellant train of thought.

"When I woke up in here with just Matty, I remembered that damn rocket coming at us and for a minute…" Jack hesitated, running a hand over his mouth. "Let's just say it was worse than realizing you'd skipped the country without telling me and almost as bad as finding that damn mask and wine bottle at your place and knowing instantly who had you."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here." Jack had filled Mac in on most of the details of Murdoc's sick game when they'd made their way to Fisher's house to warn the 'teacher' about his pending demise, but Mac knew his partner had left out the emotional repercussions it triggered, ones that echoed his failure to keep Mac safe. Those wouldn't just vanish into thin air like Murdoc had a tendency to do.

"I don't blame you, kid." Jack was quick interject, giving Mac more absolution than he deserved. "All this is on Murdoc. I hate that freaking bastard."

"Did Matty tell you why he wanted Fisher?" Mac asked, hoping to once more change the trajectory of their conversation.

"Some kind of whacked out league of assassins?" Jack nodded. "After she threatened to suspend me indefinitely if I left the hospital without treatment, she filled me in on how you were awake at the scene when Murdoc made off with the worst teacher of the year wannabe."

"I guess it proves Murdoc wasn't that interested in finding his son after all."

"I wouldn't be so quick to jump to that conclusion, bud." Jack pinched the bridge of his nose again, the lines of pain framing his eyes more pronounced. "We both understand the bond between father and son and the tangled web it can weave."

"You think bringing Fisher on board to this collective he's forming might have something to do with his plan to get Casein back?"

"In Murdoc's screwed up world, how knows?" Jack sighed. "I feel for his kid, especially if that whole story Murdoc told you about offing his mom is even a little true, but call me heartless because at the moment I'm more worried about my own family-namely you."

"As you pointed out, if Murdoc had wanted me dead, he could have put a bullet in me after blowing up the transport." Mac was trying to be helpful, but from the look his partner shot him he wasn't accomplishing the task. "I'm just saying that he's had ample chances to kill me in the last twenty four hours and since he didn't he obviously wants to keep me around…"

"To hurt you," Jack interrupted. "The bastard obviously wants to inflict as much pain as possible because he sees you as some twisted version of his bizarro self, a side he wants to destroy because he can't live up to the standard you set."

"Are you psycho-analyzing the bad guys now?" Mac teased because he could feel the way Jack's whole body tensed beside him.

"It doesn't take a self-professed psychological wonder like Cage to see that Murdoc hates you because you're the light to his darkness, brother." Jack held Mac's gaze, his hard and angry. "He thinks he's as smart as you, and that you two are somehow linked, like that Harry Potter kid and Gargamel."

"Voldemort," Mac supplied, his mouth twitching. "Gargamel is the villain from the Smurfs. Get your movies straight, man."

"My bad, but you do favor Smurfette a little more than you do the kid with the lightning bolt scar, Sunshine," Jack bumped his arm, the first hint of a smile making it to his face. Mac almost didn't mind the insult. "Either way, I know you get my freaking point. The guy is fixated on you and as long as he's breathing that puts you in his crosshairs. Obviously, I'm not comfortable with you being in that position."

"Which is why I expected you would be staying at my place." Mac smirked at his partner, pleased he'd brought their venturing into morose territory completely full circle without much melodrama. "Hopefully not indefinitely unless you want to start paying rent like Bozer."

"Bodyguards usually don't pay to protect their clients, brother." Jack seemed to understand his reluctance to talk about Murdoc, at least in the sterile, uncomfortable setting of a hospital examination room, and didn't insist on pushing the subject.

"Well, brothers aren't typically contracted security." Mac bumped his shoulder against Jack's this time.

"I suppose I have to concede that point." The older agent raised a brow in challenge. "As long as you give in and let the doctor have a look at that leg you're favoring and the ribs I know must be hurting like hell if the way you're slumped over is any indication. It wouldn't hurt to let him take a look at that hole in your arm where Murdoc butchered his IV job as well."

Mac's face must have revealed just how he felt about the prospects of having another set of hands on him because Jack's smile faded and he ducked his head to catch Mac's gaze. "I'll be right here the whole time, bud. In your line of sight. Hovering like the good helicopter parent I am."

Mac shook his head, running a hand through his hair, remembering his confession from before, his admittance to needing to keep Jack in view. "I wouldn't have you any other way, you know."

"I'll remind you of that next time you chew me out for doing my job," Jack said.

"I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon." Mac had no plans of trying to ditch his partner in the near future. If nothing else, Murdoc's little power play had given Mac a bit of perspective on a few things, including the hunt for his father and how as sure as you couldn't make some people stay with you, there were others that would never leave.

"Don't tell me something good actually came out of this disastrous day." Jack's frown was back. "Because as much as I want you to cut me some slack on my need to be around to watch your back, I can't begin to be even a tiny bit grateful to Murdoc, man. Not even a tiny bit. Not ever. He's made enemy number one in my book, surpassing 'He who should not be named'."

Mac rolled his eyes at Jack's reluctance to say Craddock's name out loud, even if he understood his partner was trying not to add to the inevitable nightmares Mac was bound to have if they ever made it home and actually got some sleep. "My change of heart has nothing to do with Murdoc," he assured the older agent.

"Then who do I need to thank for this enlightenment?"

"My grandfather."

"Harry?" Jack asked, amused. "Did I miss something?"

"When I was in Paris I remembered something he once told me about my dad." For years Mac had purposively blocked those days and weeks following his father's leaving out of his mind. Only recently had he begun combing through his memories like an old library archive searching in the most painful of places for any clues that might help him to find the missing piece of his childhood. He'd forgotten having asked Harry about the whole 'why' of his father's disappearance and that it had prompted one of the best gifts Mac had ever gotten. He looked past Jack, finding it hard to admit the painful discovery he'd made as well. "I thought my dad leaving was somehow my fault, that I'd done something to make him go, or maybe that I hadn't done enough after my mom died to make him want to stay. But Harry told me that it wasn't my fault and that my dad could sometimes become so focused on something he thought was important that he lost track of everything and everyone else. He said when he figured out how blind he'd been, he'd eventually come back."

"I think me and Harry would get along just fine." Jack smiled at Mac, having spoken similar words to his younger partner many times over when Mac's insecurity about his father's abandonment reared its ugly head. "I'm just not seeing how his wisdom relates to our latest impasse."

"I realized that maybe I'm a lot like my dad." Mac fumbled for the right way to explain what he'd been considering since that afternoon in Paris when he'd lashed out at Jack and pushed him away because he hadn't had time or energy to devote to the distraction his partner could be. Jack's voice of reason didn't line up with what Mac wanted to believe was a solid lead on James MacGyver's whereabouts so he'd discounted everything else Jack was trying to impart, even the warning that Mac's narrowed focus at the airport had put his life in danger. "When I'm trying to work something out, I can shove everything and everyone to the background, even the people I love, concentrating completely on what I'm trying to accomplish or the problem that needs solving. I used to think I was just really good at compartmentalizing, that I had the sort of focus needed to accomplish any goal I set my eye on, but now I'm pretty sure I'm just a selfish bastard with a one track mind."

"Hey, don't say that." Jack gripped Mac's wrist without thinking, growling at himself when Mac winced. "Sorry," He let go instantly, looking once more like he might be sick. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Jack."

"No, no it's not." Jack shook his head emphatically. "Not if you're thinking you're anything like your father when it comes to how he handled the situation with you. Like I said before, brother. I didn't know your old man, but I _know_ you. Better than anyone. You don't have a selfish bone in your body. Stubborn and at times arrogant as hell, but selfish-no. You put everyone before yourself, even strangers like Murdoc's kid, Casein. You would have let Murdoc put you through hell before you'd betrayed that boy's location."

"I appreciate you tend to only see _mostly_ the best when it comes to me. Really I do." Mac knew he all too often took for granted that Jack was his number one fan, sometimes taking advantage of that devotion much like an indulged, favorite child. "But, I can't ignore the fact that I apparently have the same tendency my father obviously had to ignore what was right in front of him. For all my smarts, I'm not good at keeping what's most important in sight."

"That's not true, brother," Jack said emphatically. "You, better than most, understand that family is the most important thing we have."

"I used to think I understood." Mac had thought he'd embraced that particular concept in spite of not having much family left. He'd never appreciated it more than when he was alone in Murdoc's torture chamber afraid he'd never see Jack or Bozer again. But Murdoc rubbing in the point that Mac's father had basically chosen something over his son every single day he'd been out of Mac's life had made it painfully clear that Mac was walking a very similar slippery slope n his pursuit to find the man. The more he focused on forcefully bringing his father back into his life, the more he seemed to lose touch with those around him, the people who repeatedly, willingly chose to stay at his side, the ones who made a constant effort to keep him in sight and kept returning to his side.

"I _know_ you do." Jack said quietly, shaking Mac from his spiraling thoughts. The look he shot Mac was the one reserved for the most serious subjects like Nikki, Thornton, and some of their really bad days in the desert. It had Mac swallowing reflexively, blinking to relieve the hot prickling sensation at the back of his eyes. "The fact that you'd do anything for family is exactly why you're _nothing_ like you're old man. So put that out of your hard head once and for all. Do you hear me, bud?"

"I hear you." Mac rubbed at his eyes, exhaustion once more making itself known. Jet lag, Murdoc's drug, and being caught up in an explosion had combined to empty the last of his reserve tank. If the idea of sterile white walls, more needles, and having strangers in and out of his room wasn't completely unnerving, Mac might have considered capitulating to an overnight observation just to get to a bed.

"Good, because I'm pretty sure your grandfather would have never wanted you to use that little bit of insight to beat yourself up. It sounds like he was trying really hard to explain the impossible, and to make the best of a very bad situation."

"I'm sure I didn't make it easy on him. In fact, I know I didn't." Mac ran a hand over his hair, remembering the way he'd asked his grandfather if the knife he'd just given him had a tool to locate his dad. Sometimes it was hard to realize the value of a gift when it was tucked inside a terrible moment. Sort of like when Mac had found himself in the middle of Afghanistan after Pena's death, traded to a Delta Unit for a bottle of whiskey and some chocolate. He glanced guiltily at Jack. "He tried to pick up the slack, to be everything I needed, but I just wanted my dad."

"Kid, the heart wants what the heart wants, but take it from me when I say that your grandfather wouldn't have held that against you, bud. Not for a second." Jack knocked his fist against Mac's. "In fact, I have it on good authority that he would have probably given just about anything to be able to give you what you wanted and hated like hell that he couldn't make it happen."

Mac knew exactly from what authority Jack was speaking. Harry wasn't the only one who loved Mac enough to desperately want to give him what he wanted, even if it was at his own expense. It was why Jack was willing to circle the globe, following any slim lead and dead end clue Mac could conjure, even when Mac professed not to want him to. He looked at his partner. "Thanks, Jack."

"Thank me with those warm beers when we finally get the hell out of here." Jack scooted from the edge of the table, standing. "Why is it that doctors never seem to be in any damn hurry in an _emergency_ room?"

"No one says we just can't leave anytime we want." Mac flashed a hopeful look towards the door. "It's not like either of our conditions constitutes a crisis."

"Nice try, man." Jack smirked. "Don't think your big cow-eyes are going to get you out of the doctor giving you a once over. That boat's already sailed once today and if I dodge another of Matty's indirect direct orders my condition might take a sudden and very painful turn for the worse."

Mac sighed. "But I'm telling you my ribs and leg are only bruised. If I have a concussion it's a mild one at most."

"Humor me by letting the man with a MD after his name give us a second opinion and I might let you pick the movie we watch tonight."

"Considering it's my house, that's big of you."

"We can always stay at my place," Jack offered and for a moment Mac seriously considered taking his partner up on the offer. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be going back to his house, but also realized that staying away would only make his inevitable return harder. Jack seemed to pick up on his hesitancy. "My casa is your casa, my brother. I know Einstein would love to share his bed with you."

"That was _my_ room before it was Einstein's." Mac pointed out. "Surely I rank higher than a cat."

"I said the very same thing about Bozer, but you see who has the extra room at your digs and who sleeps on the couch."

"See my earlier point about rent."

"Yeah, well, I pay my dues in a hundred other ways, bud." Jack pointed at the bandage on his head. "Like in blood, sweat, and tears. Not to mention all the gray hair. But do you ever hear me complaining?"

"Well…" Mac grinned, only to have Jack narrow his eyes at him. "Probably not nearly as much as you should."

Jack snorted. "I'm glad to see you appreciate my restraint."

"Just so you know, I appreciate a lot of things about you, Jack." Mac didn't add the 'especially after today' but he got the distinct impression Jack understood. He licked his lips, frowning at how hard it was just to say what he was feeling. Where was Murdoc's drug when you needed it? The concoction might have suppressed his logical thoughts, and made him feel weird as hell, but it had managed quite the feat in regards to his emotions, loosening the tight bridle with which Mac usually kept them under control. He willed himself to meet Jack's gaze, forging on despite the discomfort he felt. "But one of the things I appreciate the most is how you always stay."

"That's good, kid, because I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon." Jack gave a huge grin, gesturing to the door before reaching out and ruffling Mac's hair like he was all of ten. "Except to go and grab that doctor." He raised a brow at Mac. "That is if you're good for a few minutes."

Mac ran a hand over his hair to smooth it back in place, giving his best friend a well-practiced scowl despite not minding the big-brother move as much as usual. "I think I can manage."

The truth was as Mac watched Jack go, his heart leapt around a bit, old fears mixing with new ones that threatened to have him following after his partner like an insecure puppy. Instead he stayed right where he was, confident in the well-proved knowledge that Jack, unlike James MacGyver, was well versed in the art of coming back.

Until the next episode...


End file.
